To Fly Without Wings
by Sticka-chan
Summary: My first D.Gray-Man story... AllenxLenalee and LavixOC. There's also an extra OC... note: TO BE REWRITTEN although the storyline is the same :D Genres differ with chapters.
1. Chapter 1: Big News

**Evil: (depressed) Mmph… 1****st**** chapter.**

**Allen: Hey, why are you so depressed, Evil ?**

**Evil: Sticker.**

**Allen: Huh ?**

**Evil: Sticker.**

**Lavi: As in the kind of stamp-like thingy sticker ?**

**Evil: (even more depressed) Sticker…**

**Lavi: Is 'sticker' you boyfriend or something ?**

**Evil: (slaps Lavi) Idiot. (leaves the room)**

**Everyone: (silence)**

**Allen: I coulda sworn I saw her crying…**

**Everyone (except Lavi): You made her cry…**

**Lavi: (shocked) I… got slapped ?**

**Lenalee: Trust me, you really went overboard this time. I'm gonna go find her. (leaves the room)**

**Komui: Aak ! Lenalee-chan, wait for me ! (goes after Lenalee)**

**Lavi: (silent)… (snaps up) Hey wait ! I'm coming along too ! (rushes out)**

**Allen: Should I go with them… ?**

**Bookman: Of course you should, wise guy. At least that brat had the sense of doing something sensible for once.**

**Allen: Eh, I thought you're supposed to be smarter than me ? (At least, that's what Hoshino-sensei said…)**

**Bookman: Of course I am.**

**Allen: Then why did you call me a wise guy?**

**Bookman: It's a sarcastic comment, dimwit. There, is that better ?**

**Allen: No. (frowning)**

**Bookman: Then go kiss Ms Lena.**

**Allen: What ?! (blushing in anger)**

**Bookman: It'll make her less angry at you. That's common sense, which proves just how dimwitted you really are.**

**Allen: Oi ! Wha- what are you doing ?! I didn't ask for this ! (gets pushed out by Bookman)**

**Bookman: Ah, peace… Enjoy Chapter 1 !**

**Chapter 1: A long, boring year**

"What ?!"

"You're kidding."

"No way."

"Impossible."

"Why… ?"

"You can't be serious."

"I'm sorry, Lenalee-chan, but I **am **serious and I sincerely apologise. Although, it **will **help you to learn other things than destroying akuma. Besides, the Earl of Millenium hasn't made a move for almost a month now. Anyway, if akuma appear, you can just destroy them on the spot," Komui stated firmly, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, "The only ones who are given the choice of going are the Generals, Bookman, some exorcists who have yet to be named, and of course, Lenalee-chan !" (A/N: Sorry for the long long paragraph, but there's going to be another one later. You don't read that, it's nonsensical. I myself don't know what it means.)

"This isn't like you at all, brother…" Lenalee said, sweatdropping, while the other exorcists all groaned.

"Now, as for those who this is compulsory for…" Komui resumed. Allen and Lavi's heads snapped up hopefully.

"Please don't call us…"

"Lavi- "

"Gaaaargh !"

"Allen- "

"Aaaaargh !"

"Krory- "

"Boohoohoo…"

"Miranda…"

Silence.

"Okay, no others."

Sighs of relief. And then, they realised it.

"Why does Yuu get an exception ?! It's not fair !" Allen and Lavi whined in unison.

"Don't you **dare** call me by my first name, or I'll slice off your head ! Especially you, **beansprout**…" Kanda threatened, pointing his sword at both Allen and Lavi's necks, with his serious-scary expression. Excpet now, it was scarier. All three exorcists had already activated their anti-akuma weapons, Lavi's hammer big enough to crush Kanda to the size of an ant. Allen and Lavi were shooting Kanda death glares, and vice versa.

"Um, I'll join in, if that makes you two feel better (and stop complaining)," Lenalee volunteered.

"Yeah !" the two energetic boys cheered, rejoicing as they each slung one arm round Lenalee's shoulders supportively.

"Aak ! You got within the 1 metre radius of my Lenalee-chan ! And you're **touching** her !" Komui shrieked, as if the world was about to end and the Millenum Earl was attacking them at that present point of time.

The result ? Komui flung Allen and Lavi away, sending them flying through the rooftop.

"What power…" Krory murmured enviously, watching Allen and Lavi flying farther and farther into the distance, until they were a speck in the sky and finally disappeared.

"Too bad he isn't an exorcist," Miranda agreed, and they both nodded their heads.

"You aren't going after them ?" Krory then asked Lenalee curiously.

"It would be pointless if I did. They'll come back here on their own," Lenalee said, shrugging her shoulders.

"But wouldn't it be faster if you went to fetch them using your ability ?" he asked her once again, wanting to confirm what she had just said.

"No, they'll be back here in 3… 2…" Lenalee replied, counting down to the 'climax'.

"1."

And Allen and Lavi came crashing through the roof with Lavi's hammer, which had been made big enough to let them hold on to it and jump back to the headquaters, creating another bigger, more-expensive-to-repair hole, only to get kicked in the side of their heads by Bookman.

"Dimwits ! Brats ! Idiots ! You could have taken the back door instead of the roof, for your information !" Bookman scolded menacingly.

"**FYI**, Panda, we didn't know there **was** a back door at all," Lavi replied insolently, rubbing the part of his head where he had been kicked.

"But there **is** a back door, right ?" Allen asked pathetically.

Bookman nodded in response, saying, "Mmm," in the same monotonous voice Allen had used.

"Whaaaa ! What have you done to the roof ?!" a group of Finders exclaimed in agony.

"That aside," Komui continued with a cough, ignoring the Finders' murderous intent, "All activities will begin tomorrow, so pack up any essential items and make sure you're ready for a full year of- "

"A full year of boredom, lazing about, sleeping and all the words you get when you check a thesaurus," Lavi cut in, yawning. He looked as if he was about to nod off already.

Komui glowered at Lavi, a somewhat-murderous intent building up inside him. Only somewhat, because nothing could cause him to go wild and lash out all his anger unless any guy got within his rule of a 1 metre radius around Lenalee. **Especially** Bak.

"You do realise that there will be lots of cute girls for you there, Lavi," Komui stated matter-of-factly.

With his common exclaim, "Strike !", Lavi went into his bulging-heart-shaped eyes mode, a kind of mode no one except he himself experienced.

"Um…" Allen murmured, raising his hand and sweatdropping at the back of his head.

Komui grinned. "Ah, Allen-kun, you're off to a very good start." (A/N: Don't understand anything ? Read the next line. But don't bother to read the paragraph after that, it's nonsensical.)

"Why do we have to go to school in the first place ?" Allen asked, although he very well already knew the answer.

(A/N: A somewhat-gentle reminder, DON'T BOTHER TO READ THIS PARAGRAPH.) "It will benefit all of you because by the end of the year, you will be on the same standard as others who are of the same age as you are. For the reason that you are exorcists, people look up to you and respect you. Exorcists are expected to excel in everything, including studies, because that would be a backdrop and others would start to look down on us as we would know less than them in a particular area, hence putting us to shame," Komui explained, who was actually reading aloud from his piece of paper. Most of them didn't actually understand a word he had said.

"Brother… how long are the curriculum hours ?" Lenalee asked curiously, hoping she hadn't already volunteered for something that was way beyond her.

"Oh, you are to leave home at any time you wish, but classes begin at 5.30am and end at 7pm, including your time taken up for co-curriculum activities," (A/N: What we call CCAs.) Komui told her, in fact addressing everyone, "So that means a total of 13 and a half hours. Breakfast and lunch are included, but you'll have to eat dinner when you get back. If you work hard, you'll get a buffet spread for lunch."

Allen brightened up at his last sentence. "BUFFET !" his mind kept screaming, drooling absentmindedly.

"All right then, off to bed with you, and **remember** to pack your belongings," Komui issued them a final reminder/warning.

Allen hurried towards the glamorous thirty-storey building, which didn't look much like a school. In fact, it didn't look like a school at all ! (A/N: From my imagination, that is.) He had actually bothered to count the number of floors there were, and had spent a full five minutes just standing there and gaping.

"Gosh, I'm going to be late, I'm going to be late !" Allen thought worriedly, feeling sick in his stomach.

"Allllennnn, grab onnnn !" Lavi yelled to him from far behind.

Allen whipped around, only to see his good friend gripping on to his hammer for dear life. He sweatdropped. At the rate it was going, he'd only have a millisecond to grab onto it ! "Then again… I wouldn't want to get into trouble for breaking the building down," he thought.

He turned back towards his destination, trying to ignore the sound of wind coming from Lavi's hammer.

Suddenly, he heard a thud behind him, causing him to whip around again.

There, a few centimeters behind his right foot, was Lavi, his face flat on the cemented pavement. "I think it ran out of gas…" Lavi muttered.

Allen sweatdropped once more. "Eheh heh heh… We'd best be going," he suggested, leaving Lavi behind in the dirt.

"W-wait for me…" Lavi said, standind up lazily, wobbling from the impact.

And as Allen tried to ignore his fellow redhead, he thought, "This is the start of a long, boring year…"


	2. Chapter 2: First Day

_(silence)_

**Allen: Um… Lenalee, you really don't have to…**

**Lenalee: You can't leave a huge cut like that alone, Allen-kun. It's not like you're like Kanda, with his Life Force or whatever its called.**

**Kanda: (glares) I am **_**nothing**_** like beansprout.**

**Allen: (glares back at Kanda) Grrr…**

_(Story: While everybody was out looking for Evil, Allen tripped over nothing, and Lenalee happened to be passing by that way. When she saw his cut, she automatically brought him back to the room to nurse it. A cross-looking Kanda also arrived, late as usual.)_

**Bookman: Who else is out there ?**

**Allen: Uh… I saw Arystar and Miranda, so now they're also searching for Evil…**

**Lenalee: But brother went home… How heartless can he get ?**

**Komui: (somewhere far away) Did Lenalee-chan just say something bad about me ? (crying, heartbroken)**

**Bookman: Did anybody go to look for Evil at the most obvious place ?**

**Allen & Lenalee: Where ? (clueless)**

**Bookman: Her house.**

**Allen: Oh dang, I forgot.**

**Lenalee: I don't know her address.**

_(Arystar and Miranda come inside, dripping wet)_

**Lenalee: Krory ! Miranda ! Why're you all wet ?**

**Allen: (thinking that they fell into a drain)**

**Bookman: It's been raining for the past hour, since you came back.**

**Allen & Lenalee: Oh.**

**Krory: We didn't manage to find her…**

**Miranda: Why am I always so unlucky… ?**

**Bookman: So now we only have that brat to depend on.**

**Allen: C'mon Lavi, find Evil and bring her back here so that we can apologise to her and not get murdered…**

**Lenalee: We ? Lavi's the one who needs to say sorry, not us.**

_(Lavi bursts into the room, drenched… and he's with an unconscious Evil, equally drenched… !)_

**Lavi: Hey ! Help me ! Evil's forehead's burning, I'm telling ya !**

**Everybody: (shocked)**

_(Suspense ! On with Chapter 2 ! To know what happens next, follow me to chapter 3 ! I also need somebody to tell me about Lavi's past… Thanks to whoever does !)_

**Chapter 2: First Day**

"Allen Walker and Lavi… you're late," a voice in the classroom on their left boomed. It was so loud, it blew Allen and Lavi's hair to the right — and left it like that.

Sweating profusely, the two looked at each other, thinking, "We've finally found the right classroom."

In actual fact, they had spent fifteen minutes just wandering around the building, searching for their classroom.

Lavi had wondered why an 18-year-old and a 15-year-old would be in the same class, but he had shrugged off the thought.

They were still hesitant to go in. The walls were definitely opaque, so how did the teacher know that they were directly outside the classroom ?

"This voice sounds kinda familiar…" Allen whispered to Lavi curiously.

"You never know," Lavi replied, sweatdropping.

Allen took a deep breath and reached for the classroom door handle, when suddenly, they burst open automatically, sending another strong gust of wind blowing at them, now causing their hair to freeze in a different direction.

The scene was completed with their mouths hanging open, jaw dropped — at their new teacher, Komui.

"Ah, so you finally decided to come in," Komui said, a glint at the tip of his glasses.

Allen and Lavi gulped. Of all people…

"In school, you will call me Komui-sensei. Have I made that clear ?" he stated, although he was giving them the kind of face that said you-didn't-think-I'd-let-Lenalee-chan-off-with-you-boys-so-easily-did-you…

Allen and Lavi nodded quickly, creeped out at the face he was making.

"Lavi, you sit—" Komui started, but gasped in horror when he realized that the only seats left were the ones in front of and next to his beloved Lenalee.

"—next to Lenalee-chan…" Komui said reluctantly.

Lavi chuckled and sauntered confidently to his seat next to Lenalee, sure that he would be able to get all the pretty girls in the class.

"Now, as for you, Allen-kun—" Komui said hesitantly, "In front of… Lenalee-chan…"

Allen nodded obediently and made his way to his seat. The guy in front of him was an ordinary human, no exorcist, like most of the others in the class. And he was building card houses with… poker cards…

Allen made a mental note to challenge him to a game of poker if he was ever bored in class, then shot Lenalee a friendly smile before sitting down.

As soon as he sat down and turned to the front, he came face-to-face with Komui, glowering at him. Sweating, Allen wondered if Komui had eyes at the back of the classroom.

Next to him was a girl with spiky dark hair, and she looked kind of familiar, except Allen couldn't figure out where he had seen her before. And so, he shrugged the thought off. (A/N: In actual fact, the girl is Road. Sorry, I'm actually copying the seating positions from Omake 34. Disclaimer: I do not own that !)

Lavi looked around the classroom. There was Krory, a Miranda, a kinda-cute girl, another guy, Allen, a freaky girl, another girl who-he-couldn't-see-from-where-he-was-but-might-be-cute, Panda…

Panda ?! Lavi stared at him, and Bookman stared back, giving Lavi the kind of expression that said I'm-testing -Komui-if-he-can-teach-me-something-I-don't-know.

O-kay…

And then there was Lenalee, him, and… Yuu Kanda ?! Lavi grinned evilly to himself. So, Kanda was here after all… He was planning to ask Komui why Kanda was here… After all, revenge _is_ sweet.

Kanda looked glum as always. He was probably having his daily brooding session…

"Any questions before we start ?" Komui asked (like any ordinary teacher would).

Hands shot up. "How many classes are there and who are the teachers ?"

"There are three classes, one taught by me, which involves normal studies, one taught by Jerry, who teaches only home economics and one taught by General Cross Marian, who teaches how to do all the things you're not supposed to," Komui explained.

At that moment, everyone wished they were and were not in General Cross' class, they wished they were because they got to do all the things they wanted to, and didn't want to be there because, well… he was General Cross !

"Why are there so few classes and students ?" another person asked.

"Because this school is so expensive that only few can afford it…" Komui stated, eyeing all the exorcists, giving them a mental note to be grateful. However, none of them received it.

There was only one hand left up. From the boy in front of Allen. "Yes ?" Komui asked him sweetly.

"Is that girl two seats behind me (Lenalee) considered eye candy ?"

Silence.

Screech. Bang. Crash. Doom…

* * *

Arystar Krory jotted down notes on whatever Komui blabbed out during lessons. After being cooped up in his grandfather's castle since he was born, he had absolutely no idea of anything Komui was talking about, and so vowed to keep track of everything. (grade expected to get: high A or A*)

Miranda Lotto kept looking from her piece of paper where some important notes had been scribbled onto to Komui, trying to keep up with whatever he was talking about.

(grade expected to get: low A)

* * *

Allen Walker was hardly paying any attention in class. He was too busy playing poker with the person in front of him, and for once, he was losing. _Allen Walker was losing at poker._

(grade expected to get: F)

* * *

Road Kamelot wasn't actually paying much attention. She glanced to the blackboard from time to time, but she really was wondering what her family was doing at home. Maybe Tyki was doing something weird again, or Jasdevi pointing their guns at each other, Sweet Tooth eating lunch, Lulubell doing paperwork… and the Earl talking to Lero about something.

(grade expected to get: A, low A* with Tyki's help)

* * *

Bookman was clinging on to every boring word Komui Lee uttered, checking to see if there were any mistakes or anything he could teach Komui or learn from him, although that was a very doubting thing. He wondered what kind of grade Lavi would get, hoping that the brat would at least get an A to qualify for a bookman.

(grade expected to get: Full Marks, maybe A* with one or two careless mistakes)

* * *

Lenalee Lee was slightly bored, trying to listen to her brother rattle on and on about things she already knew.

There were things here and there that she learnt and written down neatly, but she was more focused on the 'kinda handsome' white-haired boy in front of her, who was too busy failing at poker for the first time. She made a mental note to give Allen a peck on the cheek if he won against the boy, and blushed at the thought.

(grade expected to get: A*)

* * *

Yuu Kanda, who despises his first name, was totally bored to death and did not understand a word Komui said. Kanda swore that inside its sheath, Mugen was twitching impatiently, wanting to get into battle.

(grade expected to get: F)

* * *

And then there was Lavi, the redhead's 49th alias, who was almost bored to death, trying to keep up with Komui's every word, but was always on the verge of falling asleep.

(grade expected to get: D, a fail, which will make Bookman furious with him)

When he finally dozed off and arrived in slumberland for a couple of seconds, he was woken up by a sharp peck on his head.

Lavi lifted his heavy eyelids sleepily. There, in front of him, was a delicate paper aeroplane, that could only have been folded so neatly by a girl.

Knowing that he would probably get sent to a dungeon if he said it aloud, Lavi mentally said his trademark "Strike !" and hastily unfolded the aeroplane.

Inside, was a note — as he had expected. Because of the curls and flourishes, it confirmed that it was indeed written by a girl. No 'man' would ever write that way, with the curls and the swirls… Lavi shuddered at the thought. Maybe Jerry would.

Then he noticed, the writing was straight, letter by letter, and was not written in cursive. Only a few flourishes, here and there. "Whoa, must be written by a real boyish lassie," he thought.

And so, Lavi began reading:

_Hey, I'm surprised to see you here. We haven't met for quite a while, have we ? It's been four years, because I last saw you when you were fourteen. You still remember me, right ? If you don't, I'll murder you, so there. Ha ha._

_-Sticker :)_

Sticker ? Lavi's eyes widened with shock under his black eye patch.

The 7.30am breakfast bell rang shrilly.

Allen and the boy were still furiously playing poker, and they took the game outside, with Lenalee following them out curiously.

Komui accompanied Krory out the door, delighted to relate more to him on the vast subject of cells and micro-organisms which he had been teaching.

Miranda was busy running after them, asking for the notes to copy, since she had been too slow to take them down earlier.

And of course, Kanda solemnly followed the rest of the students out.

And Lavi was left alone. Or so he thought.

"It can't possibly be… Stick ?" he thought aloud, disbelieving.

The crumpled piece of paper was pulled down from his face suddenly. A warm smile greeted him. "Of course it can, Lavi."

Lavi stared, face to face, inches apart.

"Gaaaaaah !!"

He yelled, blushing, and fell backwards from his chair in shock. "You haven't changed a bit, Stick ! Why'd you have to keep doing that ?!"

The girl with straight, jet-black hair that hung just below her shoulders, complete with hazel eyes that could melt any boy's heart, shrugged and helped him up. "Because I'm Sticker, that's why."


	3. Chapter 3: Lenalee's Birthday 'AxL'

Evil: I feel… really sick…

**Lenalee: Of course you do, you **_**are**_** sick, Sticka-chan.**

Evil: …Lenalee… you're the first person to call me that.

Lenalee: Well, that's what you want to be called, don't you ?

**Sticker (Evil): Mmm… I guess.**

_**(ringing sound)**_

**Allen: There's a telephone here ?**

Sticker: Course there is. (picks up the phone, sweatdrops)

_**Person on the phone: Hello ?**_

Sticker: Hi, Mom…

**Everybody else: **_**MOM ?!**_

Person on the phone: Why is it so noisy in the background ? And why aren't you home when you're running a 40 degree temperature ?!

Sticker: (sweatdrops) Hold on, Mom… (covers the receiver) WHO THE HECK TOLD MY MOM THAT I'M SICK AND HOW DID YOU GET MY HOUSE'S PHONE NUMBER ?!

**(silence)**

**Lavi: Yeah, about that… I did ?**

**Sticker: AND WHY THE HELL DID YOU – …oh…**

**Lavi: Oh ? (sarcastically)**

**Sticker: (blushing) Um, yeah… What were you saying ?**

Person on the phone: Hmm… Since I have no idea who is over there with you, I want you to get 4 people to come over. I want to meet them. By the way, who was it that informed me that you were sick ?

Sticker: It was… Uh, you'll meet all of them later, ok ?

Person on the phone: Alright, just making sure… Oh yes, Rose and Jo are here –

Sticker: Kyaaaaaaaah !! Really ?! (stumbles backward)

**Allen: Wah wah wah !! Sit down before you fall on any of us ! (catches Evil)**

**Sticker: (faces Allen) Thanks.**

Person on the receiver: Alright, now you better hurry up or you'll faint before you even get back home… That happened last month, remember ?

Sticker: Yes, I remember, now I'll come back… (puts down the phone)

**Lenalee: Sticka-chan, who's –**

**Sticker: Allen, Kanda –**

**Allen & Kanda: Why him ?! / Why me ?!**

**Sticker: Shut up. Lenalee… and… who'll the last person be…**

**Everybody else: Isn't it obvious enough for you ?**

**Sticker: Uh ? No. Who ?**

**Komui: Me, of course ! Lenalee-chan will not be going anywhere without adult supervision !**

**Sticker: Uh, my parents are at home. They're adults, Komui-san. I don't know why all of you came back here after you left anyway…**

**Everybody else: The answer is still obvious.**

**Sticker: WHY THE HECK IS IT SO DAMNED OBVIOUS TO – you… (half-faints)**

**Lavi: I deserve some credit, don't I ? This has to be the third time… (runs over) I catch you before you fall and get a huge bump on your head which might lead to concussion, and might be –**

**Bookman: We get the point, you brat.**

**Lavi: Fatal.**

**Bookman: Oh, forget it. I'd go so I can treat her, but her parents want to meet you…**

**Allen: Bookman-sama… The way you said it… Is creepy…**

**Lenalee: Oh, come on, let's get going. Sticka-chan just told me her address just now.**

**Lavi: Lead the way then. Get up, Yu-chan ! We're going –**

**Kanda: Yes, we're going. We're going to your funeral. (deathly voice)**

**Lavi: Guh… Run for it, Lenalee !!**

"Eh… Sticka-chan…" Lavi called, tapping on her shoulder.

Sticker continued humming the beat of the song she was listening to as she walked down the corridor with him.

"Sticka-chan…" he continued more conspicuously and loudly, tapping on her shoulder once again, only to get a hard slap on his hand.

"Ow…" he muttered under his breath, getting fed up with her, "Okay, that does it."

"STICKA-CHAN !!" he yelled in her ear, removing one of her earpieces.

Startled, her eyes flew open and she began panicking, "Wha- what ? Akuma ?! Are there akuma here ?"

Lavi sighed, "No, there are no akuma. But how are you going to introduce yourself to the others ? I mean, you don't even know them."

Sticker frowned, confused by his statement. "Introduce _myself_ ? Don't you mean introduce _ourselves_ ?" she asked him, removing the other earpiece.

Now it was Lavi's turn to look bewildered. "Huh ? But there's only _you_, what do you mean by introducing other – " he started, but stopped in mid-speech when realisation overcame him.

Sticker sensed a smirk tugging at his lips as he said, "Oh… are you implying that Jo-chan and _Rosie_ are here too ?"

"_Why you freakin' little imbecile…_ "

He sweatdropped, stopping dead in his tracks. "You… you set me up… "

A girl slightly shorter than Sticker came running towards them at top speed, her fists clenched and her dark brown hair tied into a short ponytail. Rose's usual eyes the colour of melted chocolate were now burning with fury.

Before Lavi could even blink, Rose's flying fist hit her exact target – his arm.

Lavi groaned in pain, clutching his arm as Rose dusted her hands and let out a small giggle. "You're eighteen. You should have enough common sense to know that my name _isn't_ Rosie," she said knowingly, "Nii-chan's only two months older than you, and he _doesn't _call me that."

Lavi's eyes widened at her last sentence, although there was still a throbbing pain in his arm. "Nii-chan ? Does that mean…" he asked disbelievingly.

Rose shook her head and continued, "No, none of us have been adopted yet. Otherwise we wouldn't be in this school for orphans and exorcists, would we ? Anyway, it's just that Nii-chan arrived the day you left. And the creepy thing is that we all land up here again in the end."

"You mean, your older brother's in this school ?" he asked flatly.

Rose nodded. "_I _think he's a very nice person to have as a brother, 'cause he doesn't scold me even though I call him something _he_ doesn't want to be called… _And he doesn't even call me Rosie_, " she said proudly.

"Sounds… totally unfamiliar…" Lavi thought suspiciously.

"Ring a bell ?" Sticker asked him.

Lavi began thinking. "Allen ? Naw, can't be. He's British. Kuro-chan ? No way, he was cooped up inside that castle all his life. Komui-san ? Wait, that's for Lenalee. Yu-chan ? Nah. Impossible."

"_WHY YOU BAKA USAGI !!_" Kanda threatened Lavi menacingly, appearing out of the cafeteria without any warning beforehand, and proceeded to point mugen at Lavi's neck.

Lavi held his hands up in the air, sweatdropping. "Whoa… you know, _Kanda_, you're really creepy…" he groaned, although he was positive that Kanda wouldn't let him off just that easily.

Rose laughed, and punched Kanda's arm lightly. "Come on, Nii-chan, this has to be about the hundredth time he's called you that. Get used to it," she chuckled, grabbing mugen and sliding it back into its sheath. Kanda merely glared at her while crossing his arms. "Che."

Lavi gawked, pointing from Kanda to Rose, at a loss for words. "_Yu-chan is Rosie's older brother ?_" he stuttered.

She nodded. "Surprised, eh ?" Come on, Nii-chan has gotta surprise _Moyashi_, and then – "

"And then we can think of more Allen x Lenalee schemes !" Jo exclaimed, popping out of nowhere. Matchmaking fanatic. Genius at exams. (A/N: Sticker calls her a brainiac. )

"Oh, good grief," Lavi sighed, "I smell a rat, The truth is, none of you have changed at all…"

* * *

"Okay then, explain to us why… ?" Allen started, glancing from Jo to Rose, and finally to Sticker. Gathered around him were Lenalee, Krory, Lavi, Kanda and of course, the three girls.

Sticker looked from Jo to Rose, asking, "So, who's gonna do the explanation ?" Both of them gave them the same bored faces that could only mean one thing – "_You _do it. Sticker sighed, then turned to face the exorcists once again.

"The name's Sylvia Walker, but everyone else calls me Sticker," she started, but Jo cut in. "Or Sticka-chan."

"Yeah," she continued, "And Lavi, me, Jo, Rose and Kanda all came from the same orphanage when we were kids, except that these tow guys here didn't know each other." She let her head fall to the table, and gave a muffled reason, "'Cause Kanda only arrived here after Lavi left. And by the way, Rose is my cousin."

"And Yu-chan is Rose's older brother, who didn't bother telling us that he's a sister complex like Komui-san," Lavi added, only to have Rose restraining Kanda from attacking him again. Bruises were enough. (A/N: Wait. There's another relationship. Observant people would have noticed it ^^ )

Jo followed up with a grin. "But there's something else all of you either don't know or forgot," she said mischievously.

"What ?" they asked.

She grinned again. "Aw… didn't anyone remember what day it is today ?" she said in a mocking voice.

"Monday ?"

"I thought it was Tuesday !"

"No, it's Wednesday."

"Wednesday was _yesterday_, idiot."

"But isn't today Friday ?"

"Today's a Saturday !"

The exorcists all turned to face Jo after a few seconds of arguing. "It's a Sunday," they all answered in unison.

"Nope," she answered simply, "It's Lenalee's birthday." (A/N: I know ! Sorry, Lenalee's birthday is long overdue ! More than 3 months ! But I just wanted to use the idea XD )

"_What ?!_"

"Lenalee, why didn't you say anything ?" Lavi asked her, as the rest began bombarding her with questions.

Lenalee flushed under pressure and embarrassment at her friends' sudden discovery that it was her birthday.

"You know, Yu-chan, you need to give Lenalee a present too. I mean, Allen-kun probably won't be able to find Lenalee her 'perfect present', according to Jo-chan, but a present is a present, and you still need to give her one," Rose reminded, slapping Kanda on his back. Hard.

Kanda grunted in response. "Fine, but would you lay off on the beating ?"

Rose laughed. "Okay, you win."

Just then, Allen perked up and walked towards Sticker, who was talking to Jerry about something. Food, probably. "Hey," he started, waiting for her to turn around to face him. She didn't. She was too busy staring at the huge amounts of ice-cream they had in store. "Hey," Allen called once again, "Um… Sticka-chan ?"

This time, she turned around. "Uh ? Oh, yeah ?"

Allen tilted his head slightly to the side. How old was she anyway ? Oh, forget it, that wasn't his original question. "Did you say your name was Sylvia _Walker_ ?"

* * *

"_Psst_. Allen. What are you getting her ?" Rose whispered to Allen curiously, a sly smirk creeping up her face.

"Uh… To tell you the truth, I'm not sure yet," Allen admitted hastily, "I only own a deck of poker cards, and I don't really think Lenalee would be interested in poker."

Jo catapulted into their conversation. "_You _!! I've been looking for you all over the place !!" Out of breath, she shook poor Allen by the shoulders, "What are you giving Lenalee-chan for her birthday ?"

Dazed, Allen answered sheepishly, "I- I don't know…"

"_What _?!" Jo yelled in his face, trying to restrain herself from the temptation of hitting Allen on the head, "Okay, fine then. It can't be helped if you're such a _dim-witted fool_. First, think about all the times you've spent with her, and see if you can remember anything she loves."

However, something else was running through her mind, and the temptation to burst it out was high, but she knew it was vital for Allen to find it out for himself. "One of the things she loves is _you_, idiot," she thought impatiently.

Allen thought… and thought… and thought… But the only thing he could think of was a big box of mitarashi dango. Did Lenalee even _like_ dango in the first place ? Allen shook his head. No, why was he thinking that way ? Of course she did ? Who in the world wouldn't _love _to eat dango ? It was so delicious ! Only someone who had been admitted to a mental hospital wouldn't love eating it.

"_Oi _!! _Allen _!! Think of _Lenalee_, not dango !!" Jo yelled in his ear, snapping him out of his dango-daydream.

Turning to her suspiciously, Allen asked, "How did you know I was thinking about dango ?"

Jo crossed her arms in frustration, gritting her teeth. "I just do, and if you don't except that for an answer, I'll tell you something nonsensical like – like Timcanpy hates Sticka-chan, for instance !"

Timcanpy flew over in rage, biting Jo's ear. She immediately pushed him away when blood spurted out of her ear, and she smacked him onto Allen's forehead. "And _stay_ there !" she scolded.

"That just goes to show that Timcanpy loves Sticka-chan a lot," Rose pointed out, and Tim nodded in agreement, shooting up ten feet into the air. "Is it just me, or are there hearts popping out from Tim after I mentioned Sticka-chan ?"

"It's not just you," Allen and Jo answered in unison, looking up at him.

"Who do you love more, Allen-kun or Sticka-chan ?" Rose asked Tim, raising her voice a little so that she could be heard.

Immediately, Tim shot down to the top of Allen's head, landing with a bump. "Ow," Allen said, laughing, "Guess I'm still the hot favourite, compared to all the other girls Master and Tim like."

"Like Lenalee," Jo reminded, giving a fake cough for attention, "_A-hem _?"\

"Oh yes, Lenalee !" Allen said, surprising himself. He tried his best to recall if Lenalee loved something that he could afford, not with all those unpaid debts piled on top of him. So he thought… and thought…

_*Flashback – Allen's POV*_

"_Because I don't want you to get hurt !" (thinking of Lenalee)_

"_Allen-kun, are you okay ?" (thinking of Lenalee)_

"_Be careful, Allen-kun !" (thinking of Lenalee)_

"_Are you sure ?" (thinking of Lenalee)_

"_Allen-kun !" (still thinking of Lenalee)_

_*End Flashback*_

Then it struck him. His face turned crimson red as he realised what her had been doing. Jo swore it was almost as red as Lavi's hair. If not, redder.

"So ? Have you thought of what to give her now ?" Rose asked, seeing that Jo was feeling too jittery to say a word after seeing Allen blush so furiously.

"Uh… yeah," Allen replied, although her really hadn't. Now, he only had one objective – ask Sticker what to do. Maybe listening to all that she had been rattling on and on about at the cafeteria was worth it after all. Still, it was hard to accept the fact that she was his foster sister, especially Mana had never mentioned anything of that sort. (A/N: Have you figured it out yet ? ^^ Answer in the next paragraph)

Yet one more extremely nerve-wrecking thing was to find out that he was related to someone as irritable as Kanda. Allen absolutely detested the way Kanda called him 'baka moyashi'. Why did Sticker and Rose have to be cousins in the first place ? It was so unbelievable, that the feeling that he was going to discover more 'creepy' things that day. And he was far from wrong.

Allen knocked on the door softly. Rose had said that she had been cooped up in her room the whole day long, and refused to come out. "Maybe she's just really tired, and sleeping," he thought, "That could be why she didn't come out."

To his surprise, she answered, "If that's Yu, go away. If it's Rose or Jo, I'm working on something. If that's Komui-san, come in. If that's Lenalee, come in too. If that's anybody else except for Allen, I'm busy. If that's my Nii-chan, then _come in this instant_."

Allen sweatdropped. Was she going to be the third person that day to ask him what he was getting Lenalee as a birthday present ? Probably so. Just as he reached for the doorknob, it opened and he was dragged inside.

"I _said_ right now, didn't I ?" she repeated, sitting back down on her bed next to the window, "You can come and sit here. What is it you wanted to say ?" She smacked a cushion next to her on the bed.

Allen sat down next to her hesitantly, taking a look at what she was doing. Her pencil was sketching at a considerably fast pace, yet the drawings were neat. He saw a picture of Komui, Lenalee, Miranda, Jo, Rose, herself… Oh, there was Lavi… and now she was sketching someone else.

Him.

"Nice drawings," he complimented, fingering them carefully.

"Thanks. I'm giving them to Lenalee after I colour and frame them. But that isn't the reason you came here," she replied knowingly, "What do _you _have for her anyway ?"

Allen sighed. "That's the very reason I need your help. Okay, first – "

"First, you tell me that you've finally discovered that you're in love with Lenalee," Sticker interrupted, a smirk tugging at her face. She stuck out her tongue playfully at him and continued with her drawings.

Allen turned pink. "Wha- what… how did you…" he looked at his younger sister through slanted eyes. "Are you people psychics or something ?"

"Thanks for the compliment, Nii-chan. No, we're not psychics, we're mind-readers," she joked, "Naw, that's the same thing. We just know, Allen."

"Oh, come on then. Just help me, I don't know what I'm supposed to do now…" Allen begged, "Don't make me get down on my knees."

"You know what," Sticker answered, still smirking at her older brother's behaviour, "I think maybe I will." (A/N: Enjoy !)

* * *

Meanwhile, Jo had decided to pick on Lavi. "Yes, so you go hit Komui on the head, and then I can start my brainwashing," she said craftily," Ehehehehehehehehe…"

"She hasn't even changed one bit," Lavi thought while sweatdropping, "Evem her evil laugh sounds exactly the same as it did four years ago…"

He let out a sigh. "So I'll just go do it now ?" he asked lazily.

Jo nodded to herself, the evil smirk still plastered across her face.

"But what if I don't _want_ to do it ?" he complained, playing with his hammer.

If you don't do it…" Jo threatened, "I'm warning you, I don't know what'll happen to you, but I'm sure you'll get _at least _a black eye…"

Lavi gave in, and opened the door to Komui's office as silently as he could. It wouldn't do for him to realise that it was _he _who would hit him on the head – he'd be in hot soup if that ever happened. Probably more homework… "Or maybe it's just best to hit him on the head without going inside at all…" he thought, nodding to himself.

And with a swing of his hammer, he knocked Komui by the side of his head, blacking him out. Lavi walked over to him curiously. "I didn't hit him _too _hard, did I ?"

Jo popped her head into the room. "Oh, good, you've knocked him out. Now we can start the brainwashing…" She went over to Komui and bent down, chanting a supposedly random voodoo spell that made absolutely no sense. "You have just found out from Lenalee that she's been in love with Allen-kun ever since she first met him," she began, "But she's scared that Allen-kun only likes her as a friend and nothing more… So you've made up a plan to get Allen to propose to Lenalee so that she'll be convinced that Allen loves her back… Which will make her happy… And of course, you must give Allen a ring to give to Lenalee…"

The truth was, all of this was nowhere near true. In fact, it was almost just the opposite situation.

* * *

Komui rushed over to Allen, yelling, "_Allen-kun _!! _There's something I need you to do for me_ !!" Leaving Allen in absolute daze and confusion.

"Allen-kun, are you in love in love with Lenalee ?" he asked without holding back.

Allen almost blurted out an immediate and surprise 'yes, why?' but caught himself just in time, thinking that Komui was suspicious of him for some reason that was once again a coincidence, just like at the Black Order Reunion Party the other time. "No, Komui-san, of course not…"

Komui gasped. "_What ?! _How can anyone _not _be in love with my precious Lenalee-chan ? She's so _pretty_, and _caring_, and _obedient_, and _sweet_…" he cried, taking Allen's hands, "_Allen-kun !! _With this, would you _please _propose to her so that she will live happily ever after like the princesses always do in fairytales ? I mean, Lenalee-chan is _your_ princess, isn't she, Allen-kun ?" And he handed Allen a wedding ring, a huge and glimmering diamond embedded in it.

Panicky and blushing, Allen tried to think of a valid explanation as to why Komui would suddenly have this abnormal behaviour. If he didn't agreee, Komui would probably invent another deadly potion which would poison the entire Order, including him, since he was the target – to make everyone fall in love with Lenalee. No, that would be a disaster ! "Wh- why do you want me to propose to her, Komui san ?! This isn't like you at all !" he asked frantically.

"_Because Lenalee-chan is in love with Allen-kun !!!_" Komui wailed, sobbing and making Allen's sleeves wet with tears.

"_What ?! _D- did she really tell you that ?! Wh- when ?! Why ? How…" Allen exclaimed agitatedly, although he was suddenly terrified of Komui for some reason, and was at a loss for words.

"No…" Komui sniffed, " I- I don't know… I don't remember her telling me… I just… know… _Oh, Allen-kun, I'm such a bad brother to Lenalee-chan ~ !!_"

Allen suspected something fishy was going on, so he asked Komui, "Where were you when you found that out and _when_ did that happen ?"

"Just now… I was at my desk."

"And before that ?"

"I fell asleep while doing work, I think… at my desk."

Allen groaned, thinking he had finally found the correct explanation as to Komui's unusual actions. But at the same time, he heaved a sigh of immense relief. "Komui-san, it was all a dream," Allen explained to his senior, retrieving his drenched sleeves and handing Komui the delicate ring back, "Here. Go return this and get back your two hundred guineas."

"But… but the salesgirl said no refunds.." Komui said pitifully, "You keep it, Allen-kun. Go sell it and get money to pay off your debts." And with that, he stalked off gloomily.

Sweatdropping, Allen stared at the ring in his hand. "Oh, well…"

* * *

"Um… let's see… we'll have one tomato special for Krory, since he said that the blood-oil of an akuma tastes like tomato juice… Strawberry for Lenalee because that's what she's chosen… Blue-hawaiian for Nii-chan since that's what Jo advised… Chocolate chip for Jo 'cause she loves chocolate chip cookies… Mint for Miranda 'cause… uh, 'cause both start with 'M' ?" Sticker told Jerry, then took a breath and continued again.

"Anyway, dark chocolate brownie for Rose and one chocolate midnight cookie for some reason I have no idea of…One sticky chewy chocolate for me and 'cause I love that… Another one for Lavi 'cause he has a sweet tooth and that's the sweetest… And finally, the soba special for Yu 'cause he only likes to eat soba and nothing else. So that's ten ice-creams altogether."

Jerry threw her his best smile. "Ten ice-creams, coming right up !" he said, and called to the back of the kitchen, "Oh, Li~ llie ! _Lillie _! Did you get all that ?"

A girl's voice replied, "I'm already done !"

Jerry turned back to Sticker, saying cheerfully, "I've got a new assistant who's going to cook here. Her name's Lillie, and she's one of the students. I need to get back to the Order, otherwise all the Finders would starve to death." Just then, a short girl with spiky, strawberry blonde hair squeezed in next to Jerry. "Ten ice-creams ?" she asked.

Sticker nodded and passed the ice-creams to each person gathered around her. "Too bad you don't have any more stock for the lollipops…" she groaned to herself as she handed Lavi his cone.

"_What~ _?" Lavi whined, "There were lollipops all this while and you didn't tell me ?"

"_Of course,_" Lillie answered his question, "Sushi ate them all up a month ago and finished them in a record time of eighteen seconds."

"Eh ?" everyone asked, confused with what Lillie had just said, "Who's _sushi_ ?"

Lillie pointed to Sticker, who was trying to escape from the cafeteria without being noticed. When Lavi looked in her direction with a murderous face, she knew she was in for trouble. "Uh oh…"

"_STICKA-CHAN~ !!!_" Lavi hollered at her, and began to give chase.

"What's the big deal about lollipops ?" Allen asked Rose, licking his ice-cream. He seemed to be enjoying it.

"When Sticker first came to the orphanage, she was carrying a small bag of lollipops with her, and when she and Lavi became friends, she made him try one – bad idea. Ever since then, they've been fighting for every lollipop in sight," Rose explained to him, sighing.

Meanwhile, Jo was asking Lillie curiously, "There's a tomato-flavoured and soba-flavoured ice-cream too ?"

Lillie nodded. "Yeah. But they're called 'specials' 'cause they're hardly asked for."

In another corner of the cafeteria, Kanda was reluctant to try the ice-cream at first, but after much persuading from Rose, he finally took a bite out of it, and shivered. "Silly !" Rose laughed, slapping him on the back, "That's not the way to eat ice-cream ! You lick it, you don't chew it."

Kanda grunted in response. "Didn't I already tell you to lay off on the slapping ?" This time, he went over to a table to eat alone once again, ignoring Rose, who was trying to drag him back to where she and Allen were.

"Oh, fine !" Rose huffed impatiently, "I'll just give this to Yujiru before it melts. Otherwise he'll blame me for forgetting his chocolate midnight cookie ice-cream." She rushed off before Kanda could stop her.

"Who's this _Yujiru_ ?" Allen asked Sticker curiously.

Sticker sweatdropped and tried to think of an answer. "Nothing you need to know…" Allen gave her a look. He'd leave it for the time being, but he'd just ask her another day. Not that it mattered to him anyway. "Uh… Let's have Lenalee open her presents now !" Sticker suggested, trying to get the topic of Yujiru off Allen's mind. (A/N: Yuji will be introduced in the next chapter.)

"Presents ?"

* * *

"Okay, Lenalee-chan, go find your presents !" Jo encouraged. She had made up a game where Lenalee had to find her presents in the giver's respective rooms.

For example, now she was searching for Krory's present in his room. She looked through the drawers, under the table… and found the prersent under Krory's pillow.

A card was attached, saying: Happy Birthday, Lenalee-san ! This is one of the millions of albums I have of my dearest Eliade… You didn't get to see her, so now you have a lot of photos of her ! From Arystar Krory

Lenalee sweatdropped, and noticed the paper was slightly damp. From Krory's tears, she guessed. That was typically Krory when he thought of Eliade… But it was nice of him, anyway. She slipped it into the paper bag she had been given to place her presents in, and made her way to Miranda's room.

She opened the door and looked around. Miranda's innocence was… time. Time had to do with… clocks. Like the grandfather clock that they had found her innocence in. She suddenly pictured the time when Allen had actually gone into the clock, saying, "Look, Lenalee ! A human clock !" She giggled to herself at the memory.

She opened the glass door, and found a watch with a tag connected to it: Happy Birthday, Lenalee-san ! I wish you luck for the rest of your life… although I'm the one who needs it. Hehe… Miranda.

Closing the glass door once more, Lenalee examined the watch. It _was _very pretty… She smiled and strapped it round her wrist. What was the point of having a watch if she didn't wear it ? Lenalee made her way to Lavi and Bookman's room. Since the floor and walls were littered with newspapers, she should be able to find her present, right ? Unless Lavi had hidden it in the pile…

And indeed he had. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack, except the needle was a present and it was a hundred times bigger, while the haystack was a colossal pile of newspapers. It wouldn't be all that hard.

In the end, she managed to find her present – a pair of ankle boots.

Then there was Kanda. Lenalee knew that she wouldn't have any trouble finding her present there. Kanda wouldn't have bothered to hide it in the first place. Unless, of course, he hadn't bought a present at all…

She came to his room and only saw a table, a chair, a bed, and a clothes hanger. Talk about simple. Walking over to the table, she found a piece of paper there. A card ? No… a voucher for a year of free soba ? Lenalee giggled. Everything was soba for him…

The room next to Kanda's happened to be Rose's, so Lenalee went in and began her search. She had only known Rose for a day, so she didn't really know what to expect from her.

Rose's room was almost as simple as Kanda's, except that there was a piano and an electric guitar. There were music scores scattered across the floor too, thanks to the wind – Rose had forgotten to shut the windows. Lenalee sighed and bent down to pick them up. She then put them in a stack on the table. It was at that moment when she caught sight of a bath towel draped over something big.

Slowly and curiously, she removed the towel and found a big, fluffy teddy bear the colour of pink roses. Lenalee held it up. Soft. Comfy. She hugged it, smiling. Nice and warm to hug. Something hard touched her face, and she held the bear away from her. The teddy bear was holding a necklace, hand-made out of seashells. It was beautiful. Lenalee hung it round her neck.

She squeezed the teddy bear inside the bag, and wondered how she was going to carry Sticker's, Allen's and Jo's presents. Time for Sticker's room.

She opened the door to find that her new-found friend's room was almost as cluttered as Lavi's. More music scores and overdue worksheets given by teachers were strewn here and there. There were even scrunched-up balls of paper.

Lenalee glanced around. There was something on the bed – a file and a book that had been neatly placed, besides the papers scattered all over the floor. On top of them was a card that said: Happy Birthday, Lenalee ! Hope you like your presents :) Sylvia Walker

Lenalee opened the book – there were no lines. She felt the pages. Oh, a _sticker _album… She opened up the file to check its contents. There was a drawing of her, a drawing of Allen, and basically, sketches of everyone – some in a group, some as portraits. All of them were drawn with the uttermost delicacy and precaution. Smiling, she tucked them under her arm. Then there was Allen-kun. There was also Jo, but Allen's room was closer to where she was.

Just as Lenalee was about to reach for the doorknob to Allen's room, she heard her name being called.

"Lenalee."

Turning around, Lenalee realised that it was Allen who had called her, walking towards her with slow and hesitant steps. "Um… Lenalee… There's something I have to tell you…" he began nervously, his cheeks flushing a light pink.

"Yes, Allen-kun ?" Lenalee replied good-naturedly.

"There is no present in my room… I didn't know what to give you for your birthday…" Allen admitted sheepishly, and bowed down to her in apology, "I'm very sorry… I'm the only one with nothing to give…"

Lenalee held Allen's shoulders and told him, "Get up, Allen-kun."

Surprised, Allen did as he was told. "But… Aren't you upset ?"

She gave him a smile. "Do you want me to be ?"

"N- no !" Allen replied hastily, then returned her the smile. And with that, he wrapped his arms around her in a warm embrace. "Thank you, Lenalee…"

Shocked, Lenalee blushed, but rersturned the gesture.

Jo watched from the corner. "This is going better than planned…" she giggled to herself.

Suddenly, Lavi came hurtling towards them, yelling, "_Lenalee~ !!_"

Allen and Lenalee jumped apart hurriedly. Not realising that he had broken up a very emotional (and shippy !) moment, he handed Lenalee a birthday card, panting, "Panda-jiji scolded me just now for forgetting to attach this to your present…"

Jo flew out of hiding and grabbing Lavi's ear and twisting it the best she could, making him yelp in pain. "_Yow !! _What's this for ?!"

"_For ruining my beautiful scheme !_ Lenalee-chan, would you please look for my present in Allen's room ? I hid it there," she said, irritated.

Lenalee did as Jo had said, and rummaged through Allen's drawers, hoping she wasn't invading his privacy. Something gleamed, and caught her eye. A ring – a wedding ring. An uneasy feeling overcame her, and she shut the drawer.

Just then, Jo burst into the room, saying, "Oh, forget it – I can't take it anymore ! Lenalee-chan, _there's a huge chocolate cake right behind you_." And indeed there was.

It was then that Allen yelled out without warning. "_Akuma !! Akuma are nearing the school !!_ "

Abandoning the chocolate cake, Lenalee rushed out along with everyone else. Outside, the akuma travelled closer and closer to the exorcists already outside.

"_Yeah !!_" Lavi exclaimed, "Finally, some action – " But he was cut off as a harpoon and a spree of flaming arrows invaded the bodies of akuma, destroying them. Sticker sprinted forward, blood flowing profusely from her hands. She turned and urged the other exorcists, "_Hey !! What're all of you waiting for ?! Destroy the akuma !!_" And with a blade made of a gleaming crimson metal, she slashed an akuma apart.

**Disclaimer: All characters such as Yujiru Harunata are not from D. Gray-Man, and are purely fictional. Rose, Jo, Mikura, Nazu, Sylvia, Klair and Lillie are based on a real people. I don't own D. Gray-Man.**

**Author's Note: Do all you readers like the extended length of story ? It's more than twice as much as what I usually write. ^^ That's why it took me so long. (5233 words, to be exact. My aim was at least 1001.) Plus, chapter 3 had to go through checks with my English editor in school. Or rather, my very forgetful English editor. She forgot to return me chapter 3 after about three weeks or more. (sweatdrop) I know. ^^ I write drafts on paper in red ink (red ink cos I'm a LAVI fangirl) and then type on my laptop, which just got back from the shop. It had a virus o.o**


	4. Chapter 4 : Drama Club 'AxL'

**(knocking)**

Sticker's Mom: Oh, they've arrived! (Rushes to open the door)

**Person outside: Pizza delivery. Hawaiian madam?**

**Sticker's Mom: Oh, yes, thank you very much. (Hands him a $50 note) Keep the change. (Shuts the door)**

**Sticker's Dad: You didn't tell me you were ordering pizza.**

**Sticker's Mom: That's cos it's not for you, it's for the kids.**

**Sticker's Dad: Oh.**

**(Knocking again)**

**Sticker's Mom: Darn, did I give him a $5 note instead of a $50 one ? (Opens the door)**

**Lenalee: Um, hi, are you Sylvia's parents?**

**(Lavi carrying Sticker on his back)**

**Sticker's Mom: Oh, yes! You must be her friends! Come on, come in. Thank you so much for taking care of her in the meanwhile.**

**(Sticker's Mom brings them to Sticker's room and they sit down)**

**Sticker: (punches Lavi in the back, whispering) Put me down, you oaf. There are **_**adults**_** here.**

**Lavi: (winces, puts Sticker down on the bed)**

**Sticker's Mom: Oh, yes, may I know whom it was that called just now?**

**Lavi: Uh, it was me…**

**Sticker's Mom: Oh, why thank you very much, uh…?**

**Lavi: The name's Lavi, madam.**

**Sticker's Mom: Lavi. Nice name.**

**Allen, Lenalee, Sticker & Kanda: Not for long…**

**Sticker: Mom, can I talk to you for a second? (Shoos everyone out of the room)**

**Sticker's Mom: Oh, you shouldn't have done that. Who's the white-haired boy?**

**Sticker: Oh, that's Allen-kun. He's real nice; he's like a big brother to me.**

**(Actually, everybody was outside the room listening to their conversation)**

**Sticker's Mom: A brother? That's pretty friendly. But you don't seem to treat him like your boyfriend, so I understand. Then what about that nice girl? She's very pretty, you know.**

**Sticker: Yeah, Lenalee's pretty, I guess. That's what everyone says. Especially Allen…**

**Sticker's Mom: What?**

**Sticker: Oh, nothing, nothing… (Whistling)**

**(Allen & Lenalee blush while Lavi grins and Kanda says nothing)**

**Sticker's Mom: Lavi's such a nice boy, and carrying you all the way here and making sure to call me…**

**Sticker: Mom… What are you thinking…? (Sweatdrops)**

**(Lavi begins to feel full of himself and starts 'showing off' to Allen & Lenalee)**

**Sticker's Mom: (says slyly) And I wouldn't be hesitant to admit that he **_**does**_** have quite good looks… Are you two…**_** dating?**_

**Sticker: (blushing) MOM!! WHY THE HECK are you thinking like that!! He and I have **_**nothing, absolutely nothing**_** between us. Okay? We're only **_**friends**_**, **_**friends **_**and nothing more.**

(Outside, Lavi blushes, sweatdropping as Allen and Lenalee look at him laughingly)

Sticker's Mom: Oh, yes, I forgot. What about that blue-haired guy? He looked like a gangster or something, with that face of his.

**Sticker: (sweatdrops) Yu… Yu can seem pretty scary at times, I guess. But he drops the attitude a little when you call him Kanda, and not his given name. But he's a good guy, **_**not**_** a gangster or a loan shark. Just…a little anti-social.**

**(Outside, Allen and Lavi laugh silently at Kanda while Kanda threatens to murder them)**

**Sticker's Mom: Oh, well then, your friends are free to come over at anytime they wish.**

**Sticker: (curious) Why are you being so lenient all of a sudden?**

**Sticker's Mom: Oh, because I want to see what I can do to get two of my favourite pairings together.**

**Sticker: MOM!! WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO YOU?! YOU'RE ACTING WAY WEIRD!! (Blushing) Oh, but thank goodness you like Allen x Lenalee…**

**Sticker's Mom: Oh, yes, disclaimer. **_**SyLavi33 does not own D. Gray-Man.**_

**Sticker: Since when do you know the disclaimer? And by the way, where are Mikura, Rose, Jo and Nazu?**

(All of a sudden, they burst out of the cupboard)

**Sticker: So you were hiding there all along… DIE!!**

**Jo: Ehehe… looks like this scheme didn't turn out too well, eh?**

"So, we have three new exorcists, eh?" Lavi asked, chuckling, "You guys are so unpredictable…"

"_Haha, very funny_," Sticker retorted under her breath sarcastically, sucking her lollipop, "But I guess it _is_ quite surprising that all _three_ of us are exorcists, especially since innocence is found all over the world. Why would there suddenly be so much innocence in one particular place?" She thought for a few seconds, watching him eat yakiniku. "Still…"

"Still what?" Lavi asked again, his mouth full of his favourite food.

He didn't get an answer. He waited a few more seconds, but she remained mute. She stared blankly at the cafeteria table, which was strewn with lollipop wrappers, ranging from dark blue to pink. "Still, is it really true that we can decide our own fate?" she murmured.

A shiver ran down Lavi's spine. Decide… our own fate?

Sticker snapped up suddenly. "Uh… never mind, forget what I just said. I was daydreaming again," she muttered, hurriedly getting up from her seat, "We'd best be going. If not, Komui-san will probably load us with more piles of homework – which means my room will be even messier than it already is." And with that, she took off down the hallway.

Lavi remained seated at the cafeteria alone. Everyone else had gone back to class. The bell rang, and Lavi stood up lazily. Then he glanced at the rubbish on the table, and sighed. _He was going to have to clean up after her again…_

* * *

Say you're sorry

_That face of an angel comes out_

_Just when you need it to_

_As I pace back and forth all this time_

_Cause I honestly believed in you_

_Holding on_

_The days track on_

_Stupid girl_

_I should've known_

_I should've known_

_That I'm not a princess_

_This ain't a fairytale_

_I'm not the one you'll sweep off her feet_

_Leader of the stairwell_

_This ain't Hollywood_

_This is a small town_

_I was a dreamer before you ever let me down_

_Now it's too late for you and your white horse_

_To come around_

The music was beautiful. So…heartfelt…

Maybe I was naïve

_Got lost in your eyes_

_And never really had a chance_

_My mistake_

_I didn't want to be in love_

_You had to fight to have the upper hand_

_I had so many dreams about you and me_

_Happy endings_

_Now I know_

_That I'm not a princess_

_This ain't a fairytale_

_I'm not the one you'll sweep off her feet_

_Leader of the stairwell_

_This ain't Hollywood_

_This is a small town_

_I was a dreamer before you ever let me down_

_Now it's too late for you and your white horse_

_To come around_

"Um… Rose, where are we going?" Lenalee asked curiously as they walked along the corridor with Lavi and Allen who were either busy listening to music or sulking.

"Well, every school has something we call Co-Curriculum Activities – CCAs for short. And there are various CCAs to choose from," Rose explained, "They're placed in different categories. Under 'Sports', there's archery, shooting, basketball, rock climbing and so on. As for music, there's the band, guitar ensemble, handbell ensemble and the choir. But there are also other groups like the IT club and Drama Club. For today, it's the last one I mentioned – so today is all acting." (A/N: I don't know about you people, but this is what really happens in my country. If you wanna know my CCA, just instant message me XD)

Lenalee nodded in response. She opened her mouth to ask another question, but Lavi interrupted.

"What's that music?" he asked.

"Oh, you'll find out tomorrow. Cause tomorrow we're visiting the band studio. But for today, just focus on Drama, alright, Allen-kun?" Rose said, turning around to face them.

Allen grunted in response. "Oh, c'mon, Allen-kun, Yuji didn't mean that," Rose tried convincing him, then muttered under her breath, "He's just an expert at poker, that's all. No big deal."

Allen remained silent, keeping his mouth shut. It was better not to bring up the subject at all, even though he had been sulking about it ever since the first day of school.

_*Flashback*_

"_Oh, come on, _Allen Walker, _is that the best you can do? I expected a lot more from you from what I've heard from my girlfriend," he taunted, "But recently, she changed her mind. So I decided to find out why."_

"_Your girlfriend's a lowly piece of crap," Allen cursed, "And so are you." Why was he, Allen Walker, Master Cheater at Poker, losing to a common school kid? What a jerk. It was really an ordeal to be the youngest, besides Sticker. He had stripped Tyki Mikk, a Noah, at poker – why couldn't he beat a seventeen-year-old snob now?_

_Without any warning beforehand, a blur of black suddenly came crashing into Allen's opponent. "YUUUUJJIIII!!" she cried, her cheeks pink from eating too many sweets, "Buy me a candy cane, buy me chocolate, oh for goodness sake, I just want something sugary to eat!"_

"_You've been saying that childish rhyme for the past six weeks," he complained, "Haven't you gotten tired of it yet? Besides, the only thing I'll buy you is poker cards."_

_Rose pouted. "Aww, you're no fun," she whined, shoving him playfully._

_Allen stared, sweating profusely. "Don't tell me…" he thought, feeling guilty, "Oh darn…"_

_Yujiru smirked. "Oh, Rose~… Allen called you a lowly piece of crap…"_

_*End Flashback*_

"Oi, Rose, come here. There's a message for you from that damned baka lollipop addict. Says she's taking second half of the day off tomorrow," Kanda told her as they crossed paths, then left without a word. He was obviously in a bad mood for having to deliver the message.

Rose turned around to yell to him her answer, "Okay, thanks, Yu-chan!"

"Why does _she_ have to be the only one who can call Kanda 'Yu-chan' and not get murdered? Sticka-chan calls him 'Yu' and he doesn't complain either – he just looks at her like she's going to be slaughtered, right?" Lavi whined to himself as Kanda walked past him emotionlessly.

"_You!! You're late!!_" Jo hollered, emerging from a door barely a few metres away, proceeding to drag the group to where she was, turning a deaf ear to their protests. Throwing them all into the room relentlessly, she skipped over to a huge stage lined with rows and rows of props and costumes.

"It's time for the Drama Club auditions now!!"

"But _you're_ not the one in charge of the Drama Club, why're _you_ doing the auditions?" Rose demanded as soon as she got up.

"You'd only wreck havoc in this place," Lavi agreed. And since he was well-known for a good sixth sense, what he said… usually came true.

"Well, the head of the Drama Club's knocked out cold in hospital, and _I'm_ the rarely needed assistant, so _I _have the liberty to take over, _don't I_ ?" she told them matter-of-factly.

A wooden box behind her moved on its own and let out a knocking sound. "Oh hell, he's woken up," Jo thought to herself and sweatdropped. She gave the box a hard kick, knocking the poor Drama Club leader out cold again, with his hands and feet bound, his mouth gagged with a cloth. It was so much easier to lie. The truth was, she had shoved him into the box after blacking him out. But she had more tricks up her sleeve…

"Okay, draw lots," she said, holding out strips of paper in her clenched hand, "To see who auditions first. Rose and I will help out too. But first, Rose, please pick out the first person to audition."

Muttering some curse for having to help out under her breath, Rose picked one and pulled it out.

Then came the second part...

There were five strips of paper for five people with each one _supposedly_ having each person's name written on it – Allen, Lenalee, Lavi, Rose or Jo. But no, all of them only had the same name penned down. "Allen."

"I have a real bad feeling about this…" Allen thought, and sighed.

"Oh, Allen-kun, would you please pick out your partner?" Jo beckoned to him to come over.

"Partner...?" Rose asked flatly, immediately suspecting that Jo was planning something. Was she continuing her matchmaking schemes again? She had been doing these things since they were in the orphanage…

"Yup. So that we can get things done faster," Jo gave Rose her made-up excuse.

Allen picked out one strip slowly and cautiously. He glanced at the name written and then did a double take. "_What? _How do I read this?" he said aloud, confused.

Lavi took the strip from him, then turned it upside-down. "Lenalee…"

Rose sighed at Allen's brief stupidity, but Jo merely smirked. So far, things were going perfectly according to plan… except for that interfering Charlie (head of Drama Club). She had actually changed the four remaining strips to another name – except now it wasn't Allen's again, of course. It was Lenalee's. "You guys are really lucky," she began, "Today's theme, from what I've been told, is _marriage!!_" She threw a heap of clothes onto the both of them. "Now go backstage and find the bathrooms to change! And _hurry up!!_" she huffed impatiently, turning to Lavi as soon as Allen had gone out of hearing range.

"Ah, Lavi. There's something I need to ask you," Jo said, flopping down onto a couch nearby.

"What?"

"If you were asked to do the auditions, would you – "she started, but Lavi cut her off almost immediately.

"I don't even _want_ to do the auditions now, based on the topic you've been given," he moaned, punching the wall and leaving a permanent dent.

"Well, what if you were forced to? Then if you were given a chance of whom you wanted your partner to be… "Jo trailed on.

"Anybody?" Lavi asked, smirking.

"Oh darn, he's not gay now, is he?" Rose thought guiltily, and covered her face in one hand. He better not be…

"Anybody," Jo confirmed, "But with who?"

"Well… how about Lenalee?" he suggested slyly, not thinking of the consequences of saying that aloud.

Jo aimed a punch for him, but missed, allowing Rose to injure him in her place. "_What the hell?!_" she shouted, not holding back her anger, "I am an _Allen x Lenalee _supporter!! Not a _Lavi _x Lenalee supporter!! Anybody who supports any other shipping involving either of them will be personally killed by _yours truly!!"_

Rose sighed, but her eyes snapped open and she tried to restrain Jo when she realised that her fellow Allen x Lenalee supporter was about to blurt out a whole chain of… well, things she wasn't supposed to blurt out. Like profanities and deadly secrets. Hopefully Lavi would become the dense person he was when they were younger. "I meant _Sticka-chan!!_" Jo shouted again.

"Stick? What? What about her?" Lavi replied at her sudden mention of Sticker.

"For having her as your partner?" Jo continued in a monotonous voice as Rose sighed for a second time. Too late to stop that topic of conversation now.

"Hmm… okay, I guess. That'd be perfectly fine, except she'd get through the audition in a breeze while _I _fail with flying colours. Still, there're lots more better women out there…" he replied, a lazy grin plastered across his face.

"_Pervert!!_" Jo and Rose hollered in protest.

Jo flinched. To tell or not to tell? She'd definitely be… No telling how she might take it, or how she would react. Laugh? Could be. Sigh? Probably. Upset? Maybe. Irritated? Possible. Blank state? 99.99 % guaranteed… Although there was still a 0.01 % chance, right? Ah, forget it. One way or the other, Lavi was still in for a good thrashing that he would never forget.

"_Idiot!! _Do you even _know _how much she has been through just so that – "she scolded but was cut off and dragged away by Rose, who gave Lavi a dark look. "Would you mind waiting here? I need to _discipline _her for a sec…"

They left the room in silence, Jo still struggling to break free from Rose's tight grasp. Lavi then whispered to Timcanpy, who had been watching the entire scene in silence, "Tim, do me a favour and go record their conversation…" Timcanpy nodded.

And so the suspicion began.

* * *

"_What were you thinking?!_" Rose said through gritted teeth, "You know you can't tell them all that stuff, especially not Lavi. How do you think she'd feel if they all found out about the truth?"

Jo groaned. "Oh damn, I know what I've just done. I know I'm done for, now will you please stop giving me a lecture? Sooner or later, you'll turn into my mom and then I'll have to call Kanda by the name of 'Uncle Yu' instead."

"He'd murder you," Rose added, "But you know what she's told us." Rose quoted what Sticker had drilled into their heads four years ago, when their lives changed for the better. "'A Bookman's heart is empty and unfeeling. To befriend a Bookman is to befriend memories you'll curse sooner or later and ask yourself why you made such a stupid mistake. In fact, Bookmen have no need of a heart.'" The look in her eyes said it all, especially the emphasis on her last sentence, "The two of us, Bookman and probably Allen-kun are the only ones who already know her secret."

"And Kanda," Jo said flatly.

"True," Rose replied, "He's probably figured it out already, that's why he says he's figured out why she can Zen meditate for so long without falling asleep."

"Then why can't you do the same for Yujiru ?"

"'Cause Yuji always reminds me of sweets, and when I think of sweets, I get all excited and can't concentrate."

"Good point."

"Anyway…" Rose continued, staring at Jo through slanted eyes, "We must never forget that Lavi is a Bookman, an exorcist, and nothing else. _He isn't a friend_."

"_Stop it!!_" Jo cried, "We've been through this thousands of times ! I get your point !"

Rose looked at her friend, then pet her shoulder lightly, "Everyone's bound to have a flaw or two. But Jo, you can look into a person's feelings, you can detect capable users of innocence and you love matchmaking – in other words, you love bringing people happiness. Sometimes, you just need to be more aware that not everyone can be together even though it would bring them happiness."

"It still works for Allen and Lenalee, right ?"

"I guess."

"Good ! Now we can go push Timcanpy into one of your kitties' cages !"

"Eh ?" There was a moment of silence before Rose's threatening voice which she and Kanda had inherited erupted from her throat in a deep growl. "Timcanpy… If you show this to Lavi, or let him listen to it… I will release all ten precious kitties of mine to attack you…" (A/N: Rose adores cats, just like Hoshino-sensei adores her cat Coro. XD kitties are so cute !! My cat gave birth to six kittens about a month ago and they're all so adorable… ^^ )

And so began the plot to make Timcanpy swear never to show it or let Lavi listen to their conversation without their permission. Never !!

* * *

"Lenalee… Are you… angry at me ?"

No answer came to Allen. Only the sound of Lenalee struggling to put on her costume greeted him. Then… "What was a wedding ring doing in your drawer ?"

Allen stared blankly at the door of the girls' bathroom, waiting for Lenalee to come out. He was sweating under his stuffy, black tuxedo, his audition costume. (A/N: Allen fangirls scream. Ha.) He gave a small sigh. The ruffling of her dress stopped. "Well…"

"Komui-san had a dream of you telling him that you wanted to marry me but you were scared that I didn't like you back and you became sad so Komui gave me the ring after spending two hundred guineas on it and asked me to propose to you when I explained to him that it was all just a dream and nothing more and when I told him to return it to the shop he told me that there were no refunds and so he told me to keep it and sell it myself so that I could have money to pay off the debts my Master stuck me with !" Allen blurted out rapidly, breathless. He hoped Lenalee had caught every word he had said, because he really didn't want to repeat what he had just said.

When the door finally opened, Allen held his breath, anxious to await her reaction. Did she accept the explanation ? Instead, he blushed, awestruck at the sight of Lenalee clothed in a beautiful wedding gown, which he assumed must have cost more than the ring itself. Except to him, Lenalee was the one who was far more stunning than the gown itself.

Lenalee walked slowly towards him, her heels adorned with jewels making _klink-klink _sounds and her dress brushing the floor. "Allen-kun… Is all that really true ?" she whispered, gazing up at him with her pure violet orbs.

Still blushing furiously, Allen realised her was dumbstruck. "Y- yes of course, Lenalee !"

Lenalee smiled her perfect smile that made Allen dazed, and lead the way back to where Jo, Rose and Lavi were. "Then we'd better go."

* * *

"_What ?! _Why can't you tell me, Timcanpy ?!" Lavi yelled, squashing the golden golem the best he could. Greedy, useless thing. "Let those stray cats eat him for dessert," he thought, throwing poor Timcanpy over his shoulder and into the dustbin behind him. "How infuriating."

"_Kyaaah~ !!_" Jo exclaimed when she caught sight of Lenalee and Allen in their costumes, "Lenalee-chan, you look _absolutely stunning_ in that dress !! And I bet there are more Allen and Allen x Lenalee fangirls now that they picture the scene !!"

"Eh ?"

"Oh, never mind, let's get on with it !! After this is…" Jo began, then caught herself and turned to Rose, "What _is _after this ?"

Rose sweatdropped. Lavi and Lenalee ? _No way !! Never !! That must _not _happen. _Lavi and Rose ? _What !! I already have Yuji !! _Lavi and Jo ? _No telling. Too weird a pairing. _So Lavi and who then ? Lavi and Allen ? _Eewwwww~ … No way, they aren't gay, for goodness sake !! Yuck._

"I don't know," Rose finally admitted, "Do you think… ?"

Jo glanced at her watch, then turned back to Rose. "Option 1: Give an excuse and end it early, then 'forget' to continue the auditions. There won't _be _an excuse, it's way too early to end things ! Option 2: Call 'you-know-who'. Nope, I'd be caught beheaded before we could call her. Option 3: Tell Charlie that I'd allowed Lavi to skip an audition and get a worse beating than I'm already getting. Option 4: Just let Lavi skip this audition and say that he's already done it. Okay, option 4 then."

"Lavi gets to skip this audition."

"What ?! But I don't want to skip it !" Lavi protested.

"_You don't want to skip this audition _?" Rose repeated flatly, "_Why ?_"

"I thought you said that if I did it, I could choose anyone I liked to be my partner ?" he asked, eager.

"That happens under different circumstances," Jo told him, sweatdropping, "Lenalee's already auditioned. And neither Rose nor I want to be your partner for the audition, so yeah. It's the simplest way out, and that's that."

"_What~ !_" Lavi whined, "_Why under different circumstances ?_"

"Because," she answered.

"Says _who _?"

"Says _me_."

"There's only _you _and no one else."

"_And me_."

"Ack ! Not you too, Rosie !!"

"If you call me that, all the more I'll take Jo's side."

"C'mon, agree with me, _Rose_."

"My original decision was to side with Jo anyway."

"_What !_"

"Allen, if you agree with us, I'll buy you two boxes of dango."

"_Okay ! _Lavi, Jo's right."

"_Nooo~ ! _Moyashi, I'll buy you three boxes !"

"If you call me that, all the more I'll take Jo's side. Besides, you never buy me dango in the end ! You always end up buying all the yakiniku and lollipops you can get your hands on !"

"Um… Jo… are the auditions still on or can we get changed back to our usual clothes ? This dress is a little stuffy…" Lenalee said meekly, trying to squeeze in her question when no one was already talking.

There was silence for a few seconds as everyone turned to face Lenalee. Poor thing, she had been forgotten while they were all busy in that heated argument about ending the auditions early and about dango and yakiniku and lollipops…

"Y- yes of course, Lenalee-chan ! Sorry for making you wait ! This baka usagi over here doesn't know how to carry out instructions," Jo apologised, glowering at Lavi, and Lavi glowered back at her. Sparks flew, and Allen sweatdropped. It looked as if the situation between them was going to be the same as between him and Kanda…

"Continue ! Positions, people ! Allen, you stand here, and Lenalee-chan, follow me. This is where you – " she started showing Allen and Lenalee to their respective places, and Rose observed.

"I really thought she didn't know anything about weddings, and that it was just an Allen x Lenalee scheme for the sake of having fun matchmaking people," Rose said to Lavi, "But she really _does _know what she's doing."

Rose and Lavi glanced at each other. "She really enjoys making people happy, doesn't she ?" Rose murmured. Lavi nodded. "But she's still sadistic, don't forget that. Look how poor Moyashi's suffering in that tux of his," he commented. True, Allen seemed to be bathed in his own sweat.

"Even Stick's better than her," he complained, "That's why I hate helping Jo-chan out with her Allen x Lenalee schemes. Even if I do it, I don't get a single lollipop as a reward."

Rose leaned against the wall and saw Lavi's bored face. "Of course Stick's better for you. At least she understands what and how it feels like to be a Bookman," she thought, "Although that experience was nowhere near pleasant for us."

"Okay, now, you kiss," Jo said.

"_What ?!_" Allen yelped, "Now _what ?!_" He swore that by the end of the day, his face would have overheated from blushing too many times throughout the entire day. Well, at least he wasn't the only one with flushed cheeks. Lenalee was too.

"_Just do it and get it over and done with !!_" Jo screeched at the top of her lungs, then cooled down and tempted, "If you do this, I'll get Sticka-chan to buy you dango."

Allen glanced sideways to see Lenalee looking down at her shoes – she was blushing as well. Oh well, they didn't have a choice, did they ?

So Allen took that risk – bad decision.

Lavi and Rose clapped laughingly after the split-second scene, but to a particular someone who 'happened' to be passing by, it was as if it lasted for an eternity.

Rose chuckled and glanced at her watch. The auditions were about to end, so she looked at the door – and saw a horrific sight.

"Uh, Jo… I think you better take a look at our visitor…" Rose announced aloud.

Jo turned around. "Uh ?" When she saw who it was, she sweatdropped and walked slowly towards the door. It seemed to be emitting a foul aura. "Um.. uh… Komui-san, I'm sure that Rose has a valid explanation for this…" she said, trying to shift the blame from herself to Rose.

"Hey, _you _were the one who planned the whole thing !" Rose accused rightfully, claiming her innocence.

"_Jo-chan…_" Komui murmured in a corrupt, villainous tone of voice that sent shivers down everyone's spine, "_Tomorrow, make sure to wake up early, because you need to come to my office and receive your extra math homework assignments, which are due the day after, at midnight. Sharp. Understood ?_"

Jo groaned. "_What~ !! Not _Math_ !! Anything but Math !!_" she begged, but to no avail. Oh, Komui could be _so _evil when he wanted to.

* * *

_Knock knock._

Sticker yawned as she put down her guitar. At least she had something to attend to now. For the past few minutes, the only thing she had been doing was strumming a few random chords, after playing White Horse.

_Knock knock._

"Alright, alright, I'm coming ! Sheesh…" she muttered under her breath, and opened the door for Komui.

"Ah ! Komui-san ! Sumimasen. I took so long to open the door…" she apologised as soon as she saw him.

Komui shook his head. "Never mind," he said, casting it aside, "There's something I need to ask you about – your innocence." He sat himself down.

Sticker nodded, and her blood instantly started streaming down her hands from fresh wounds. "My innocence is my blood. I can change it into different forms, like the sword that I always use." She toyed with the red liquid, which she changed into different shapes as she spoke accordingly. "It can harden into solids, as strong as I want it to be. It doesn't have a fixed shape. And after a battle, I absorb any amount of blood lost back into my body through these cuts. It can even change into General Cross' innocence, Judgement, or Lavi's hammer."

Komui seemed particularly interested. "Are these cuts only on your arms ?" he asked. She had already expected these kind of questions from him.

"No, I've a few cuts and bruises here and there, but I allow them to heal. The ones on my arm, I don't, because it's much more convenient that way."

"Mmm…" Komui murmured. Something was obviously on his mind. "Without your innocence…"

Sticker shrugged as if that didn't matter. "Without my innocence, I would die. I wouldn't be able to live without blood, now would I ?"

Komui nodded in agreement. He was deep in thought. "But if you absorbed your blood back into your body after a battle… Isn't there a high chance that it would mix with other substances ?"

She had already thought of that long ago. When she first absorbed the blood back into her body, she wasn't able to describe the feeling of unusual substances other than blood and innocence pulsing through her veins. Now she knew the reason behind that. "Yes. My body has developed the ability to neutralize akuma blood, but anything other than that will remain."

Komui raised his brows. "Is that so ? Well then…" He sighed and looked up at her from where he was sitting. "I have a proposal to make. Every time you come back from a mission, you will head straight to the infirmary to get your blood cleaned of all harmful and toxic substances."

"Eh ?" Now this, she didn't understand.

"In simple terms, to get your blood cleaned."

Sticker still wasn't sure. "Is this really that necessary, Komui-san ? In case of an emergency…"

"Unless you want to risk the chances of having an earlier death," he said firmly.

She sighed, and nodded, agreeing to Komui's proposal. "Alright, Komui-san…"

Komui smiled. "Oh, yes ! I almost forgot. Come with me to get your synchro rate tested with Rose. We haven't done that yet."

"But… what about Jo ?" she asked, curious. Maybe she was still busy with the auditions ?

"She can get her synchro rate tested tomorrow. Right know, she's under camera surveillance and she's locked in her room doing 3785 sheets of extra Math homework," Komui said cheerfully.

"Uh…" That was the only thing she could mutter after hearing what Komui had said. Sweating profusely, she sweatdropped. What had Jo done to get herself into that kind of trouble ? Poke someone's eye out ?

As they walked out the door and nearer to the place where Hevlaska rested, there was silence as Sticker thought of what it would be like, having to be in a hospital bed every time she came back from a mission. Surely she'd know all the nurses' names by heart as soon as she got used to the routine. Maybe…

"Sylvia ? Aren't you going to greet my friend here ?" Komui tried snapping Sticker out of her daze.

"Eh ?" She looked up, and came face to face with the mystic Hevlaska. She had been so deep in thought that she hadn't realised her presence, nor Lavi and Rose who were standing next to her. Lavi, as usual, had tagged along just for the fun of it.

"Oh. Nice to meet'cha."

Lavi and Komui stood awestruck at her, who only gave the friendly response instead of "freaking out", like all the other exorcists had when they had first seen Hevlaska, who smiled back at her.

Rose whistled. "Man, she sure is huge." Neither of the girls had any feelings of fear, whatsoever. Amazingly.

"Do you mind if I go first ?" Rose asked, then stood in front of Sticker, already expecting her answer – "Okay."

Hevlaska nodded and lifted Rose up with her tentacles. She was inspected for a few moments before putting her back onto her feet. "Synchro rate is quite high: 92%."

Lavi clapped, the sounds echoing throughout and bouncing off the walls. "You're up next, Sticka-chan," he reminded, "Good shot at that, Rosie."

Rose boxed the side of his head emotionlessly. Apparently she had gotten used to the whole thing, even hearing him whine after that.

Sticker stepped forward and allowed herself to be carried off the ground with Hevlaska's tentacles, just like she had done for Rose. Again, it took a few moments of silence before Hevlaska let out a stifled breath of air. "Komui…"

Komui lifted both eyebrows. Something surprising ? Dangerous ? Life-threatening ?

"Synchro rate…" Hevlaska murmured, and slowly allowed Sticker's feet to touch the ground once more. They waited in suspense.

"Synchro rate, 99%."

"Whoah !" Lavi exclaimed, "That's better than _me_ !"

All Sticker did was walk back towards where Lavi and Rose where standing, and _pull his ear_. "Didn't I always say I was better than you ?"

Lavi flinched. "_Yaah !!_ Point taken…" he said, trying to pry her fingers away from his poor ear.

She let go. "Good."

Lavi looked away from her, knowing he was going to get a second thrashing from Sticker. The first one Jo had delivered was bad enough, but still… "Huh. Not really."

Yes, he _did _get himself a good thrashing, and also a few bruises here and there. Rose only watched them, sighing. She shouldn't be surprised at Sticker's synchro rate, really. After all, not only was it parasitic, it also ran through her veins every moment of the day. It was in every part of her body. Without it, she would just die, die without any hope of living ! No hope at all…

* * *

Sticker released her breath that she had been holding all the while when she heard Bookman's calm voice say, "Come in."

The door creaked slightly when she opened it, and peeked her head round the door. There he was, sitting on a chair on the top of a huge pile of newspapers, sipping a cup of tea. "Shisho… You wanted to see me ?"

"Shhh ! Lavi's asleep. I was just thinking of leaving the room to avoid his snoring," Bookman said in somewhat a whisper, then increased the volume of his voice a little, "Then again, nothing could wake up this brat. He's dead to the world."

Sticker chuckled to herself. She was sure Bookman felt like spanking Lavi's head right now, but had decided to leave him be so that he wouldn't open his big mouth and start popping out of nowhere, talking nonsense all over the place as he always did. "It's not that loud…"

Just then, a_ loud _one really escaped him, and Sticker winced. "Okay, maybe not as quiet as I thought…"

"Forget about him," Bookman grunted, then calmed himself and turned to her, "I have a favour to ask of you."

She nodded, sitting herself down on the newspaper-littered floor.

"You may not have Lavi's sharpened sense of sight and a wide memory, but you have the ability to become a Bookman. He definitely can when he puts his mind to it, but I'm asking _you_. Your ability to block people out from your mind and lack of true emotions make you a suitable candidate. _If _there comes a time when such a thing may happen, I need _you _to demonstrate to him the way to be a Bookman – by blocking out all emotions from your heart. Also, I know of your current feelings towards every individual around you, especially this greenhorn sprawled on the bed here, and this task comes with an upper hand for you."

His explanation was long, but to her, it seemed short. She wasn't surprised, neither had she already suspected this to be coming from him. "What's this 'upper hand' ?"

"You protect him from death, because of your ability to block out pain as well."

Sticker only smiled at the 88-year-old knowledgeable exorcist whom she considered her master. "You already know my answer, Shisho. You can read me like a book."

Bookman returned the smile, as one of encouragement. "I'm sure this is what you want ?"

"It has become my purpose in life," she said as she got up slowly, "Unconditionally." Her last word leaving a stain on Bookman's thoughts, she headed out of the room before bowing to him respectfully.

'Unconditionally'. The number of things that applied to ! For her, at least. Bookman sighed as rain began to patter down on the roof of the Black Order. The air became a little chilly. Lavi groaned. "Was that Sticka-chan's voice I heard just now ? I think she said something about lollipops…"

Bookman smacked the side of Lavi's head somewhat 'lightly'. "You were dreaming. Go back to sleep. And _don't snore_."

"Sheesh, Panda-jiji…"

* * *

"Klair-chan…"

"Yes, Earl-sama ?" Klair answered obediently.

"Is it true that you were surrounded by capable users of innocence, exorcists, when you were younger ?" he questioned her as he observed her playing with her fork instead of eating her food.

"Of course it's true, Earl," Tyki answered for her, kissing the top of her wavy black hair that rested on her shoulders, "My Klair doesn't lie to her Master."

Klair shoved Tyki lightly. "Please don't call me _your _Klair, Tyki-pon. It's irritating," she replied politely, knowing that her patience would reach its limit soon enough.

"Now, now," the Earl eased the two of them, "Klair-chan, I think it would be best if you paid your dear friends a visit there and wipe the entire place out. Here." And with a raise of his arms, an entire pack of akuma of Level 1 and 2 appeared behind him.

"Earl-sama, can I come along too ?" Road asked her Master hopefully.

"Road, you will stay here and learn how to make the hamburgers instead of Jasdevi for the time being, alright ? I'm sure your cooking will be much better than theirs…" he encouraged.

"Yay !" Road exclaimed, hugging the Earl, "You're the best, Earl-sama !"

A dejected David and Jasdero sulked in a corner of the room, insulted. "Earl-sama said our cooking was horrible…" they moaned, and Jasdero let out a pitiful, "Hee."

"Yes, Earl-sama," Klair said, then got up from her chair to bow down to the Earl. When she straightened up once again, she asked, "Is Tyki-pon allowed to accompany me ?"

Tyki smirked in a classy way – a way that didn't make it seem like he was smirking.

"As you wish, Klair-chan. Tyki-pon, take good care of her. She's only twenty-three, not two thousand like Road," the Earl reminded, but he knew that Klair would keep insisting that she was nineteen – her age when she turned into a Noah, "Now be off, you two. Take care of all the exorcists there are there, thank you very much."

Author's note: So, how did you like it ? Thanks to Klair, Tyki-pon finally has a girlfriend. Sadly, he didn't have one in -Man volume 9 (or was it 11 ?) of the manga. Now he does ! Rejoice ! By the way, Klair is my friend, a Tyki fangirl, also an Allen fangirl. She's on too, I think her username's Klair-chan (I don't know, she always changes). Evil, isn't she ? I've known her since we were 7. Oh yes, something else: All characters based on real-life people have fictional ages. Please R & R ! I need at least 3 reviews per chapter ! XD


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